The storage and manipulation of data records or objects within a database application is well known in the prior art. A database allows one to store information in it; and it does not necessarily have any special meaning associated with the things that are stored in the database. A repository not only uses the database as a data store, but it is a layer above a database. A repository has information about the things stored in the database. Stated otherwise, a repository is like a card catalog that is found in the library, with the library being analogous to a database.
With the advent of repositories, improvements in the accessibility of data within databases has improved. However, as these repositories have become larger and more complex a method is required to treat a group of related objects as a single object for repository services.